


Precious Cargo

by ARtheBard



Series: JEmily Forever [22]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 02:22:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARtheBard/pseuds/ARtheBard
Summary: The team is called in when a tractor trailer hiding illegal immigrants is stopped in North Carolina. Can they find out where the truck originated in time to save other women and children from being sold into servitude?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This picks up right where Recovery ends with the team getting a new case.

“State police in North Carolina pulled over a tractor trailer with expired tags.” JJ pulls up the series of images on the flat screen. “The driver shot himself as troopers approached the cab. When they got the trailer open they found 22 people crammed into a tiny area at the front of the trailer. As far as they can tell they are all illegal immigrants from Cuba.”

Morgan frowns. “Why is this our case? Shouldn’t Missing Persons or Immigration be handling it?”

“They want us to talk to the immigrants as well as profile the rig itself. They need to know where they were coming from. Our findings should help both of those teams with their investigations,” JJ explains.

Hotch takes over. “Prentiss, you won’t be media liaison on this one. These are women and children. The only interpreter in the area is a man and they are scared of him. We think you may be able to reach them.”

Emily nods. “Of course. I’ll try.”

Hotch looks at JJ. “It’s imperative you remain a profiler-in-training on this case. That means Rossi will be our media darling.”

JJ is confused. “Uh, why can’t I be the—”

“See you on the plane in 30,” Hotch interrupts, standing.

He walks quickly out of the room. JJ looks at Rossi. “Dave?”

Rossi shrugs. “I don’t know. But I intend to find out. No one throws me to the wolves for no apparent reason.” He gets up to follow Hotch.

Those remaining look at Emily. Her eyes widen. “Don’t look at me! I just got back here. I figured he didn’t want me in front of the cameras since I still look like I went a round with Mike Tyson.”

Reid chuckles. “Not that bad. You still have your ear.”

Emily laughs. “You are a twisted man, Dr. Reid. Very twisted.”

They head out to get their things together. As Emily picks up her go bag she sighs. Reid looks at her with concern.

“You okay?”

Emily gives him a half-smile. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

Reid smiles at her. “Emily, you’ll be fine. And we’re here for you if you have any problems.”

She nods. “I know. Thanks, Reid. Really. I just…I didn’t think I’d be this nervous.”

He walks past her and lays a hand on her arm. “Everything will okay. Sounds like a pretty easy case to get back in the swing of things with.”

Emily nods. “True. Which probably means it will all go to hell.”

Reid laughs and nods. “Of course!”

Morgan walks over to them and they head for the elevators together. They meet up with JJ there. Just as they are about to get on, a voice stops them.

“Agent Prentiss? A word please.”

Emily turns to see Chief Straus standing near the doors to the bullpen. Her team makes to wait but Straus lifts an eyebrow at them.

“She’ll meet you downstairs.”

They reluctantly board the elevator, leaving Emily to Straus. Emily walks over to the chief.

“Good morning, ma’am.”

“How are you doing?” Straus asks compassionately.

“I’m okay. This case is probably a good one to get back on the job with,” Emily admits.

“And the baby? You’re physical and mental recovery?”

Emily smiles. “The baby is fine. My injuries are healing. And so is my mind. I’m seeing a shrink that specializes in PTSD. She’s given me her cell number so I can call her at any time. And, to be honest, I have the team. I trust them with my mind and body. They won’t let me down.”

Straus smiles. “That’s good to hear. Good luck with this case. Let Agent Jareau know I’m pulling for her.”

“What? What are you talking about, ma’am? Pulling for Jen why?”

Straus blushes. “I, uh, Agent Hotchner will explain when he feels the time is right. Excuse me.”

“Uh, okay. Thank you, ma’am.”

As Emily awaits the elevator she tries to figure out what Straus was talking about. The elevator arrives at the same time as Hotch and a disgusted Rossi. She frowns.

“What’s going on, Hotch? Why is Straus ‘pulling’ for Jen?”

Hotch rolls his eyes. “Fucking a…” He glances at Rossi, who just raises an eyebrow. “Damn it. We’ll talk on the jet.”

Emily glances at Rossi then back to Hotch. “Okay.”

* * *

 

Five minutes after take-off, Hotch has JJ get Garcia up on the computer. He sits where everyone, including the analyst can see him. He takes a deep breath.

“I’ve been given advanced word on a change that is coming to our team. We will be losing the media liaison position.”

Emily and JJ clasp hands, as everyone else glances at them.

“However,” Hotch continues quickly, “they will be expanding our profiler allotment by 1. The powers that be figure local media spokespeople can be used by our team. Additionally, we are all capable of speaking to the media when needed. The headache of weeding through media requests on site will fall to me or whoever is in charge of the team at that time.”

“Wait…are you saying you’re leaving?” Garcia interrupts.

Hotch smiles. “Not willingly. But contrary to popular belief I do take vacations.”

The team chuckles. JJ sits forward. “This is why I have to stay listed as a profiler-in-training, right?”

“Yes. And you need to complete your certification by the end of March. If you do I can promote you with no problem as your current position disappears. If you don’t I’ll have to open the job up to standard hiring practices.”

JJ nods. “I can do it, Hotch.”

He smiles. “I know you can. And if I order you off a case to concentrate on your studies you’ll understand why.”

She smiles. “Yes. I may hate it but I’ll understand it.”

Emily blows out a breath. “So what does this mean about me?”

“You’re a profiler, Prentiss. You can still do that job even pregnant.” He grins evilly. “And it may be safer for the media to keep you away when your hormones really kick in.”

Emily laughs and nods. “Probably true.”

Morgan raises an eyebrow. “Probably true? Em, you scare reporters when you’re not hormonal!”

“Yes, yes, I do,” she agrees proudly.

So with the worry about the team’s future over, it’s time to get down to business. “Garcia, what did you find about the truck’s route?” Hotch asks.

“Well, according to the credit card the driver had, their travels started in Florida. If the tanks were full when he started out, they probably started out in Miami. No big shock there considering their illegal immigrant issues. And before you ask, the card was a fake. The numbers just skimmed onto a blank card.”

“Where is the card owner?” Reid asks.

“Edmonton, Alberta Canada. My guess is they bought the number from another criminal.”

“Or they could be into card theft, also. Could have hacked some company, too,” Emily points out.

“True. But that would be an awful big risk,” Rossi points out. “They’d have too many law enforcement agencies that could trip over them. Would they really diversify so much?”

Morgan shrugs. “Could be like a mafia situation. Diversify and keep things separate enough that if one layer goes down the others hold.”

“All good theories,” Hotch says. “Prentiss, they may not know much but find out what the captives know about the people holding them. Could be they were caught under the pretense of being promised a job of some sort.”

Emily nods. “Yes, sir.”

“Garcia, find out what you can about that credit card and even the owner. Where could it have been stolen, things of that nature.” Hotch orders.

“Already running. I’ll hit you back when I have more. Garcia out!” She signs off.

By silent agreement, the team starts to work on the aspects of the case they will need to know. Emily starts to type up questions she’ll want to ask each person. She’ll print the file to make it easy to keep each captive and their answers together. Reid starts to plot the points on the map Garcia had emailed him, showing where the truck had stopped and for how long.

In fact, the only one not working on the case is JJ. She sits staring into space, contemplating the end of her career with the BAU if she fails her next test. Before there was no real pressure. She just needed to pass before Emily went on maternity leave or before she was barred from air travel. Now…now it was even more important that she pass. If she didn’t who knows where she will end up?

Suddenly a hand squeezes hers. She looks up into brown eyes filled with love and confidence.

“You’ll do fine, Jen,” Emily whispers. “You’ll do just fine.”

JJ forces a smile to her face and nods. Emily sees the fear marring the blue eyes. She just smiles reassuringly and asks Jen a question about something she should ask the captives. Soon, JJ is drawn into the investigation, her mind no longer on her future.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Throughout this tale Emily will be talking with people that don’t speak English. Rather than go crazy with Babylon Translator, the conversations she has in another language will appear in Bold.

**“Hello, my name is Emily Prentiss. I have a few questions for you. I—”**

**“No! Please don’t send me back! Please!”**

Emily reaches a hand out to calm the young woman. **“I’m not from Immigration. I’m with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We’re after the people that put you in that truck. They are monsters. We want to stop them. But we need your help so no else goes through the horrors you did. Please, will you help me?”**

The woman’s eyes dart around the room as if looking for a way to escape. But Emily knows she is too frightened to make a move of any sort. She waits patiently until the woman finally glances her way again.

**“Okay. But you won’t send me back to them? To the coyotes? Or to Cuba?”**

Emily shakes her head. “ **No, we won’t. I promise**.” In her mind, Emily hopes she is not lying to the woman about being sent back to Cuba.

**“Okay. I will tell you what I can.”**

Emily smiles. **“Thank you. First of all, how did you come to be in the truck?”**

**“Before we left Cuba they told us we had jobs to help pay for our journey to America. This is the land of opportunity, yes?”** Emily nods to her. **“So, we come and they put us in a warehouse. Then a man comes in and separates the men, women and children. They brought in 5 people who looked at us like…like livestock. They talked about us as if we weren’t even there, checking our muscles, our teeth, our health. After that, we were separated into groups again. The man who had looked at my teeth took our group out to the truck and made us get in. There was no light, it was hot, we could barely breathe. The little girls were crying. They beat on the door and told us to shut up or die. We heard lots of stuff moving in the truck and then we left.”**

**“How long did you travel?”**

She shakes her head. **“I don’t know. They never did open the doors again until the police freed us.”**

**“Do you know what job you were being taken to?”**

**“No. Just that we were going to be made pretty. One woman said we’d be working in a store or something.”**

A knot forms in Emily’s gut. She forces a smile to her face. “ **I’m sure that was it. Thank you.”**

Emily speaks to 5 more women. She notes each one is in relatively good health, is pretty in different ways, and is young. The knot in her stomach is hard as a rock. As the last woman is escorted out of the room she stands and heads down the hall to look at them all through the observation window. All girls, age 12 to 19.

“Virginal,” she mutters. “Pretty. Young. Son of a bitch.” She rubs a hand across her forehead. These women were being taken north for jobs as prostitutes. All ages to suit all sorts of predilections.

Emily heads down to the conference room and shuts the door behind herself. Morgan looks at her with concern.

“You okay?”

“No. They were going to be sex slaves. They were going to have to work their trip off with their bodies. Fuck, Morgan! Two of those girls are just 12 damn years old!”

He steps to her and places his hands on her shoulders. “I know this sucks big time, Emily. But you had to have thought that was the case.”

“It’s one thing to think it; it’s another to know it,” Emily mutters. “I’ve still got 16 more people to talk to. They are all terrified we’ll send them back to Cuba. Or that we’ll send them back to the people that brought them here. Truth is, what the hell are we going to do with them? We won’t send them back but how many will end up on the streets anyway? Land of fucking opportunity my ass.”

Morgan stares at her a moment. “Emily, we will help them. We’ll get them to the right agencies, the right groups that will help them make their way in America. Will some end up on the street? Sure. Sadly, that’s a given no matter how much help we get them. But most will have a chance to live the American dream because of what we will do for them the next couple of days. The information you get, the bond you make with them, will save them. Hold on to that.”

Emily takes a deep breath and slowly nods. “Thanks, Derek. I needed to hear that.”

He smiles. “Any time, Princess.”

Emily is preparing to go back to interview the next woman when Reid and Rossi walk in with some take-out bags.

“We brought lunch. Good Carolina barbeque,” Reid states.

He opens one of the bags. Emily smiles and steps towards it. The smell wafts up from the bag.

“Smells good,” Morgan says.

Emily stops cold. The smile falls off her face. “Oh, God.” She turns and races for the door, nearly knocking Hotch over as she runs out. JJ had caught Hotch, which is the only reason he doesn’t fall.

“What the hell?” Hotch asks.

JJ stares after Emily a moment, looks into the conference room, and back to Emily. “Oh, God. Morning sickness.”

She hurries after her wife. As she suspected Emily is throwing up what’s left of her breakfast in the ladies room. JJ steps up behind her and gently lifts her hair up off her neck.

“Easy, baby. It’s okay. It’s okay, Emily. It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.”

Finally Emily eases back, leaning against JJ’s legs. “Oh, hell, Jen. What the fuck just happened? I smelled the barbeque and---oh, shit!” Just the thought sends her into another batch of heaves.

JJ just rubs her wife’s back with one hand as she holds her brown hair with the other. When Emily really seems done, JJ steps to the sink and wets a paper towel. She brings it back and places the cool compress on the back of Emily’s neck.

“I kinda thought you were past this, honey.”

Emily smiles weakly. “Me, too. Maybe it’s just the emotions of these interviews making it rear its ugly head again.”

“Maybe. Look, why don’t you head to the hotel for a couple of hours? The women all need to eat and you can pick up the interviews again this afternoon.”

Emily wants to argue but is drained from the bout of sickness. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good. Head to the SUV. I’ll let Hotch know I’m taking you over there and—”

“I can drive myself, Jen. You need to work on the case.”

JJ frowns. “Em, I don’t know…”

“I do. I’ll be okay. As long as you go get the keys. I can’t go back in there right now. And then I can drive myself back later.”

Reluctantly, JJ agrees. 15 minutes later Emily strips down to just her bra and undies, turns the AC on high and flops down on the hotel room bed. A nice, cool nap is what she needs to recharge. She rubs her stomach.

“Rocky, if you turn me off of barbeque you’ll be grounded before you’re born.” She grins at the thought as she quickly slips off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

After lunch, JJ and Morgan head to the impound lot to look over the rig the immigrants had been transported in. They start in the trailer. Morgan runs his hands along the wall that closes off the captives’ prison.

“This is plywood covered with tin. Not super strong but effective.”

“It would have been stifling in here,” JJ points out. She looks up. “At least they vented it but 22 people in here, no room to sit or lay down. And as they got further north it would have been freezing. Some may have died, Morgan. Not a very good return on investment.’

Morgan shrugs. “Maybe they figure enough would have lived to make it worthwhile. And seeing the others die would make the survivors more compliant.”

JJ nods. “True. Maybe they—what the hell is this?” She kneels down in the corner and runs her hand over scratches on the tin. “Morgan, these are words. Looks Spanish.” She uses her phone to snap a picture but knows it may be too unclear for Emily to read. She pulls out her notepad and writes them down.

“Any idea what it says?”

“It looks like a name and a message. Maybe…maybe something about protecting this person?” She shakes her head. “I knew I should have taken Spanish instead of French.”

“Why made you choose French?” Morgan asks.

JJ grins. “Betty Sue Kringle.”

Morgan laughs. “Good call, Jayje. Good call.” He sighs. “Not much more here. Let’s check out the cab.”

They head for the front of the vehicle. The gore left from the man’s suicide still remains. JJ winces.

“Does this ever get easier to see?”

“If it does you’ll know it’s time to retire,” Morgan admits. JJ walks around to the passenger side as Morgan stands on the step on the driver’s side. They search through the cab but there is not a single personal item to be found. They get down and walk to the front of the truck. Leaning against the bumper they are both lost in their own thoughts for a moment. Finally JJ turns to Morgan.

“That’s a long drive for one driver.”

Morgan looks at her. “True.”

“The captives said they kept going. They weren’t let out, the truck never stopped long. And let’s face it, if it was your truck you wouldn’t want to have it stopped for long. What if the captives got loud?”

Morgan nods, seeing where she’s going. “So to keep it moving you’d have a team of drivers. Maybe following in another car and you swap out every time you stop for gas.”

“And then you keep your extra clothes and other personal things in the other car to keep this one sterile. On the off chance the truck is stopped, you just keep going.”

“And the driver eats his gun to keep from spilling. What would make the driver do that?”

“If someone had Henry, I’d do it,” JJ says emotionlessly.

Morgan nods. “Family held over their heads. Makes sense for a human trafficking ring. We need a certain hacker to get the security cameras every place this truck stopped. We need to confirm the drivers switched out and we need to find the second vehicle if there is one. Damn good work, JJ.”

JJ nods. “Thanks.”

After getting Garcia searching, Morgan looks at JJ. “How are things with you and Emily?”

JJ smiles. “Better. We still have a ways to go but we’ll make it.” She looks at Morgan. “I love her, Derek. I’m not going to lose her.”

Morgan smiles. “Something tells me she’d be tough for you to lose if you wanted to.”

JJ chuckles. “True. Derek…did she tell you Ian was going to kill us? Told her he was going to kill us all because she called us.”

Morgan winces. “That son of a bitch. Just the threat would have torn her up.”

“And if he’d gotten her out of there that night he could have told her whatever he wanted. He may never have touched us but he would have been able to use it torture her mentally.” JJ sighs. “Helped me get over the extra rounds I pumped into him for revenge.”

Morgan nods. “Good. Got to admit, I’m still pretty pissed I was on the ground and didn’t get to put any rounds into him myself.” He nudges her shoulder. “You didn’t even give me the satisfaction of punching Easter out. You stole all my fun, woman,” he teases.

JJ smiles. “I’d say I’m sorry but I just hate lying to my friends.”

Morgan laughs. With nothing more to do at the impound, they head back to the police station to fill the others in on their theories.

* * *

 

When Emily’s alarm goes off she groans. She feels a bit better and actually is a bit hungry. Taking a look at the room service menu she decides soup and a grilled cheese sandwich will be safe. After ordering she heads into the bathroom and washes her face with a cool flannel. She has just put her sweater and slacks back on when her lunch arrives.

Sitting down at the table in the room she takes a tentative bite. She sighs in relief as the sandwich stays down. The soup works, too.

“Okay, so the next few months I eat nothing but soup and grilled cheese. Should make for an interesting diet,” she tells herself.

When she finishes she touches up her make-up and heads back for the precinct. Reid is the first to see her.

“Hey, how you feeling?”

Emily smiles. “Better.”

“I am so sorry about the barbeque.”

Emily feels her stomach roil. “Oh, God…Reid…don’t even say the word.”

He winces. “Uh, sorry. Can I get you anything?”

“Not now. I need to go speak to the next captive.” She sighs. “Please tell me something good happened while I was gone.”

“JJ came up with a good theory on how they kept moving. Garcia is tracking down surveillance footage at the gas stations where we know they stopped.”

Emily nods. “Good.”

“She also made a note about something that was scratched onto the wall of the trailer cell.” He points. “It’s over there waiting for you.”

“Thanks.” Emily walks over and takes a look at it. “Esperanza Portillo. May God protect her. The other man bought her. I failed her.” Emily frowns. “The other man. Which other man? Do we even know if this was written by this bunch of women?”

Reid shakes his head. “I think that’s what they are hoping you can find out. Then we may have another lead on where other people have been taken.”

Emily shrugs. “Well, let’s go see what we can find.” She makes her way to the holding room. As she enters the women look up at her fearfully. She smiles. **“Please, does anyone here know Esperanza Portillo? We saw a message written about her on the truck walls. We need to know where she was taken.”**

She studies each woman. Two women obviously know Portillo but they are too scared to admit it. “ _Why are you terrified of admitting you know her?”_ Emily wonders to herself. She sighs and gestures to the two women. **“Ladies, I need to speak with you next. Please come with me.”**

Emily asks the two women to sit down at the table. **“I could tell by your reactions in there that you know Esperanza. I know you are scared and don’t know who you can trust. Please believe me when I say I only want to help you. And if you tell me what you know I can maybe save Esperanza, too.”**

The two women exchange a look. Finally the light-haired woman sits forward. **“She was- -”**

The other woman grabs her arm. **“Maria! NO!”**

**“What choice do we have, Ana? We are dead if they just think we helped. Maybe Ms. Prentiss can help us!”**

Emily tries to stay calm. She doesn’t even correct Maria about calling her Ms. instead of Agemt. She reaches across the table and takes Ana’s hand. **“Please trust me, Ana. Please?”**

Ana studies Emily a moment. She looks at Maria, who pleads with her eyes. Finally she gives a slight nod. Maria looks at Emily. **“She is our niece. We were supposed to keep a watch on her, make sure nothing happened to her if we got separated from our brother, her father. Ernesto…he did not live through the journey. When we got to Miami they separated us. We tried to keep her with us. I swear we did, Ms. Prentiss!”**

Maria breaks into tears so Ana reluctantly picks up the story. **“We were separated out to be taken to New York. Esperanza…the man that came…he…he touched her almost as a man touches a woman.”** Emily winces. **“He said she would be…be perfect in his collection.”**

**“He said the word ‘collection’?”** Emily confirms.

**“Yes. Collection** ,” Ana insists.

Emily releases a breath she had been holding. She thanks the women and heads back to the conference room. Hotch looks up as she enters.

“What do you have?”

The whole team can see that Emily s stressed by the information she has. Her body is stiff and she radiates fury. When she starts to explain what she knows they just stare. Her arms flail in anger and frustration. Her voice is tight and sharp. The team exchanges looks with each other. JJ finally approaches her wife.

“Emily?” She gets a little closer, a little louder. “EM!”

“QUE?” Emily asks in frustration.

“Em, honey, you’re speaking Spanish. Rapidly. We have no idea what you’re saying.”

Emily looks at each person one by one. Each nods to confirm what JJ has said. Emily sighs and drops down into a chair.

“Shit. Sorry, guys.”

Rossi pats her on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I can guess you don’t have pleasant news for us.”

“No, I don’t.”

She explains to them, in English this time, the conversation she had held with Ana and Maria. By the time she is done, they are all sickened. Hotch picks up his cell.

“I’m calling Katie Cole at the Crimes against Children’s Unit*. Maybe she has a string we can tug in Miami to help us find the girl and the bastard that bought him.”

Emily nods. “I’m going to talk to the 12 year olds next. I wonder why they weren’t his…shit…his type.” She stands and moves to the door. “Sometimes this job just fucking sucks.”

Everyone agrees silently as she heads out. JJ watches her go, wishing she could help shoulder some of the interpreting burden. “Damn you, Betty Sue Kringle,” she mutters as she goes back to the file in front of her.

* * *

 

Emily smiles at the young girl. **“I know you’re scared, honey. And I promise we will do everything we can to find your mommy. Okay?”** The little girl nods.  
  
This child hadn’t given Emily much. She is completely traumatized and mostly just asked for her mother over and over again. Emily made note that the girl is missing 2 teeth and another is chipped. She also shows signs of abuse: scars, old bruises, flinching at sudden movement. Emily assumes she was not picked by the “other man” because of these perceived faults. She walks her back to the room and asks the other young girl to come with her.

When Rosa stands, Emily notices the limp. Not seeing an injury Emily surmises it could be a permanent trait. Emily smiles and leads the girl to the interrogation room she is using. Thankfully word had gotten around with the captives that Emily is not hurting them and it doesn’t take as long to get Rosa talking.

**“Rosa, do you know why you were picked to go with these women?”**

**“No,”** she responds shaking her head. **“Many people looked us over. We were the ones not chosen by the others.”**

This is new information to Emily. **“So…you all were the leftovers?”**

**“Yes. They said we would make our money working in New York. They told my father if he drove they would consider our debt paid.”**

Emily perks up. **“Your…your father was the driver?”**

Rosa nods. **“Yes. He drove trucks in Cuba. They singled him out and when someone asked about buying his debt they were told he isn’t for sale; that he already has a job.”**

Emily opens her folder and pulls out a photo of the man that had killed himself. **“Is this your father?”**

Rosa looks and shakes her head. **“No. My father is very skinny.”**

Emily looks at the chubby-faced man in the photo. **“Do you know him at all?”**

**“He was on the boat with us and he was standing with my father and 2 other men in the warehouse. But I don’t know his name. We were not allowed to speak on the boats.”**

Emily frowns. **“I see. You said boats, as in more than one?”**

**“Yes. We left in one. Then as we got near Miami they moved us a few at a time to a smaller boat. They said that way it would look like it was a pleasure boat returning from a day at sea instead of refugees from Cuba.”**

“ _Smart coyotes_ ,” Emily thinks to herself. **“Rosa, if you saw the men who brought you to America, would you be able to identify them?”**

Rosa nods. **“Yes. I’m sure I could. But, Emily, where is my father?”**

Emily sighs and takes Rosa’s hand comfortingly. **“I don’t know. But we will do our best to find out. I promise you.”**

Emily walks Rosa back to the holding cells. She then makes her way to the bathroom. She splashes some cold water on her face, leaning over the sink to gather her thoughts. When she stands up she sees JJ watching her from near the doorway.

“You okay, baby?”

Emily shrugs. “Not really. God, Jen…I just…” she can only shake her head.

JJ walks over and wraps her arms around Emily from behind. She rests her head on her wife’s shoulder.

“I know, sweetheart. Everything about this case really sucks. And you’re having to deal with it all on your own. I am so sorry I had a crush on someone who wanted to take French.”

Emily frowns in confusion. “What?” JJ explains. Emily stares at her wife in the mirror a minute then chuckles. “You always make me feel better, Jen. Even when you’re not trying.” She turns in her wife’s arms and pulls her close. “I love you, Jennifer.”

“I love you, too, Em.”

They share a quick hug and kiss before heading back to the conference room. Emily drops down into a chair and lets them know what she has discovered.

“So the hunch about multiple drivers is correct,” Reid points out. “That can be good and bad.”

“Why bad?” JJ asks.

“If the cargo is gone, they won’t need the extra drivers. And they won’t want to risk the men getting upset that the women are missing, especially Rosa’s father,” he explains gently.

“So…so, fuck, they are most likely already dead,” JJ concludes. Reid nods sadly. JJ turns to the others. “Does this mean we stop looking for them?”

Hotch shakes his head. “No. We keep looking for the drivers and the bastards that did this to them.”

“Did Cole have any information about the Miami collector?” Emily asks.

“Nothing yet,” Hotch tells her. “But she’s got her local contacts putting out feelers. If the man is known beyond the Cuban smugglers she should hear something back.” He looks at his watch. “Okay, it’s 7 o’clock. Until Garcia and the team she has working with her finish checking all the traffic cams and rest stop cams from here to Miami we’re at a bit of a standstill. How about we break for the night and get back here at 7.”

The team nods. Emily frowns.

“The women…are they staying in the holding cells tonight?”

Hotch sighs regretfully. “I’m afraid so. It’s the only way to keep them from either running or being killed by the men missing them.” He raises a hand to stop Emily’s protest. “I don’t like it either but it is how it has to be for now. I’m sorry.”

Emily nods. “Right. I know. It just…fucking sucks.”

Hotch manages a small grin. “So you’ve pointed out several times.”

Even Emily grins at that comment. Sitting in the back of one SUV, she holds JJ’s hand but is quiet, her mind on the women and what will happen to them at the end of the case.

In their hotel room, JJ pulls Emily close. “How about you shower while I order dinner? Anything in particular sound good…or bad?”

Emily thinks a minute. Her emotions are still all over which could make the morning sickness rear its head again. “Vegetable soup and grilled cheese. And a Sprite.”

JJ smiles. “You got it. Will it make you ill if I have a burger?” Emily thinks a moment…and it’s a moment too long. JJ squeezes her wife’s hand. “Never mind. Soup and grilled cheese for 2.”

Emily winces. “Sorry, honey.”

JJ kisses her. “It’s okay. I just want you to be able to relax comfortably tonight. So get a shower and get into your pajamas. I’ll take care of everything else.”

“I love you, Jen. You are a treasure to me. I hope you know that.”

JJ nods. “I know. I feel the same about you. Now go. Shower.”

Emily heads in and takes a long, cool shower. Normally preferring hot showers, for some reason she couldn’t stand the thought of heat this night. She chuckles to herself as she rubs her stomach.

“So many freaking weird things you are doing to my body, Rocky. You are definitely making life interesting.”

When she gets out she can smell dinner has arrived. Slipping on an old Pitt tee she had stolen from JJ and a pair of sleep shorts she heads out into the room. JJ smiles.

“Good timing. Was just getting ready to come get you.”

They sit down to eat. Emily glances at the TV and grins at the movie JJ has chosen.

“You want to make me watch ‘Bound’ when I’m pregnant and surging with raging hormones?”

JJ grins. “We don’t have to. I was flipping channels when dinner arrived. It was actually on commercials when I went to the door.”

Emily chuckles. “Sure it was, Agent Jareau. You’re just a horny little Fed aren’t you?”

JJ grins. “Eat your dinner and maybe you will get to find out.”

Emily laughs and digs into her meal. They watch the last 20 minutes of the movie as they eat their dinner. JJ then heads into the bathroom to shower as Emily checks her email and sends out a few responses to detectives she had been consulting with on several cases. When Jen walks out of the bathroom her hair is pulled up on her head in a scruffy bun. She wears an old Yale shirt she had stolen from Emily and her favorite flannel sleep pants. Her make-up has been scrubbed off. Looking so plain, so comfortable, she is the sexiest woman Emily has ever seen. To hell with diamonds and glamour, casual JJ is what turns the profiler on.

JJ, unaware of the scrutiny she is under, starts to look through her go bag for something. Emily stands and crosses the room quickly. She wraps her arms around JJ from behind, her mouth going to JJ’s neck.

“Em…geez…I…ohhh,” JJ moans.

Emily’s left hand has gone up under the shirt and is playing with one perfect breast. Her right hand cups JJ through the sleep pants.

“You are so sexy,” Emily moans into JJ’s ear.

Feeling her wife’s legs weaken, Emily pulls her back tight to her body. She kisses along the back of JJ’s neck as her hands continue to squeeze breast and hot, wet mound. After a few minutes, JJ shoves her pants down and spins in Emily’s arms. Their mouths clash, tongues dueling for possession as Emily thrusts two fingers deep into her wife.

“Oh, EM! Yes, baby, yes!” JJ moans, her hips meeting each thrust. Emily spins them around and pushes JJ down onto the bed. She drops to her knees, burying her face between her wife’s legs. JJ can only moan, completely turned on by Emily’s control of the situation. Emily, for her part, is insatiable. She can’t get enough of her wife. Her own need becomes too great to ignore. With her mouth and tongue working JJ’s center, she drops a hand down into her shorts and starts to work her swollen, throbbing clit.

With her legs wrapped around Emily’s head, JJ can feel the movements of Emily’s arm. She suspects what Emily is doing and starts to thrust harder.

“Yes, Em. Please. Right there! Yes, Oh, YES!”

JJ comes, her orgasm tearing through her from her head to her toes. Emily follows her over the edge a moment later. Emily lays her head on JJ’s stomach as they both catch their breaths. She finally looks up, shame in her eyes.

“Jen…I’m sorry. I just…couldn’t stop. I didn’t even ask if—”

JJ sits up and covers Emily’s mouth with her own. “Don’t you ever apologize for loving me, Emily. Never.”

“But I was so…aggressive. That’s not me usually,” Emily laments.

JJ smiles. “Do you remember about 2 weeks after we started dating when I basically jumped your bones in your kitchen? I had you bent over your island?”

Emily’s eyes darken with desire at the memory. “Oh, yeah…God that was so…fucking hot!”

JJ grins. “I didn’t exactly ask to make love to you and I was a wee bit aggressive, don’t you think?”

Emily smiles. “Maybe. A bit.”

“Don’t fight the pregnancy hormones, sweetheart. They make life good for both of us.”

Emily chuckles and pulls JJ close. “I love you so much, Jen. Thank you for knowing what I need when I need it. Sometimes even before I need it.”

JJ gets a mock serious look on her face. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”

Emily laughs. JJ scoots back on the bed, pulling Emily with her. “You think you’re up for round two? Maybe rounds 2 through, say 5 or 6?”

Emily smiles and pulls her shirt off. “Lead the way, Mrs. Prentiss. I will gladly follow as long as I can.”

JJ turns off the TV and the lights as they give themselves over to each other, finding comfort in the love they share.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agent Katie Cole appeared in episode 2x2 "P911"


	4. Chapter 4

JJ rolls over and realizes she is alone in the bed. She sits up because the light in the bathroom isn’t on.

“What the hell?” she mutters.

She has just pulled on her pajamas when the door to the room opens. She turns on the bedside lamp.

“Emily? What the hell?” She says nervously...then she notices Emily’s hands. “Uh, babe? Seriously…what the hell?” she restates, now with amusement.

Emily is carrying 3 bags of chips, 4 candy bars, and 2 sodas. She shrugs. “I got a craving.”

JJ can’t help but laugh. “For what? A whole vending machine?”

Emily chuckles. “Well, at first it was just for Nutter Butters. I already ate those. And then all this other stuff looked so good. And then I needed a Fanta Orange. Already drank that. And then the Sprite sounded good. And then I got another Fanta just in case I wanted another one.”

JJ just stares at her wife, grinning. “You’re insane. You know that, right? Completely certifiable.”

Emily nods. “Yep. Sorry if I worried you.”

“Just a little bit but I understand.” She pulls her into a hug. “Please, wake me next time, okay? After you got sick today I’m a bit concerned about you and Rocky.”

“Okay. I will. I promise.” She offers her a Butterfinger. “Candy bar?”

JJ rolls her eyes. “Em, it’s 3:44 in the morning. I want sleep. Put your snacks down and come back to bed.”

“Yes, Mom.” JJ raises an eyebrow. “Kidding! Geez!”

Emily drops her provisions on the dresser and climbs back into bed. JJ turns off the light. After a couple of minutes Emily sighs sadly.

“What’s wrong?” JJ asks.

“I wish I’d gotten the Oreos,” Emily answers regretfully.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” JJ laughs as she rolls over and pulls her wife close, making sure she doesn’t go “hunting” again.

* * *

 

The next morning the team gathers in the conference room just after 7. Hotch puts Garcia on speakerphone.

“We’re here, Garcia.”

“Good. So, my little elves and I worked through the night and tracked the truck back to Miami. As we suspected, there was a team of drivers. We even got a good look at the plate for the Jeep Cherokee that carried the back ups. Unfortunately, the plates track back to a Honda Civic so no help there. We did have a BOLO put out but I would think it was dumped already.”

She takes a deep breath before continuing. “Now, we were also able to get a good look at the driver of the Jeep. We are running facial recognition software both here and in Cuba to see if we can identify him.”

Everyone looks shocked but Emily is the first to speak. “How the hell did you get permission from the Cuban government to look at their mug shots?”

Garcia chuckles. “Oh, Emily, it is so cute that you ask. Trust me…you don’t want the answer.”

Emily grins. “Uh, right. Forget I asked.”

Garcia continues. “Based on the reports Emily has about the captives being brought ashore on a private boat we are running facial recognition at docks near where the truck originated. If by any chance you can get the name of the boat, it would really help.”

“I’ll try, Garcia. So far no one knew the name. I still have 8 more women to talk to. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Let me know. Until then, I’m back to my programs.”

“Good job, Garcia.” Hotch disconnects and looks at his team. “I think it’s obvious that this case will be solved in Miami. Emily, stay here with the captives and get as much information as you can. Once you think you have as much as you can get join us. The rest of us, jet leaves at 10.”

JJ frowns. “Wait, what about the other drivers?”

Hotch sighs. “Most likely they are dead and the Jeep dumped. If it’s found in this area Emily can check it out. If it’s found elsewhere we’ll deal with it then. There are a lot of mountains in this area and they could have just sent it off the side of one. We may never see the Cherokee or the drivers again.”

Emily frowns. Rosa’s father may have been one of those men. How will she look that little girl in the eyes and tell her he is gone? JJ senses Emily’s unease and gives her leg a reassuring pat.

The team breaks up to gather what they need to continue on with the case. Emily picks up her clipboard and attaches several blank questionnaires to it. She pencils in the question she had added yesterday: What is the name of the boat you were transferred to?

“Please let someone have seen it. Please.”

She gets things ready and brings the first woman in to speak with her.

**“Hi, did you sleep well?”**

**“We are prisoners. Of course not. We escaped one Hell and entered another. You are nothing but a whore and a liar and a bitch. I have nothing to say to you.”**

Emily leans forward. “ **I promise you, I only want to help. The rest of my team is going to Miami later this morning. They will find who did this to you.”** Emily stares at the woman’s hard, untrusting face for a moment. **“You know, don’t you? You know it wasn’t a job in a store?”**

The woman nods. **“We were to be prostitutes. Even the little girls. And now…now we will be sent back where we will be imprisoned or, if we’re lucky, killed. Help you or don’t help you, my life is over.”**

**“It is not over. You will get to stay in America. We will get you in touch with agencies that can help you get your official papers, housing, jobs, anything you need to start your new life.”**

The woman leans forward, glaring at Emily. **“I will believe it when I see it, whore.”**

Emily can tell she will get no where with this woman. She ends the interview and heads back to the conference room. The team is ready to swing by the hotel for their bags.

“How’d it go?” JJ asks.

“Great. Just great. I was called a whore, a liar, and a bitch. Great way to start the day.”

Reid smiles at her. “Could have been worse.”

Emily raises an eyebrow. “Oh really? How?”

“Those things could have been true,” he says with a smile.

Emily chuckles. “Thanks, Reid.”

Hotch looks at Emily. “If you get anything let us know. We’ll be in touch if we find anything useful.”

Emily nods. “Good luck. I think we’re going to need it to break this one”

Rossi nods. “I think you may be right.”

* * *

 

On the jet, Morgan paces. So far the case had been a whole lot of nothing: no breaks, no clues, no action. And unless Emily or Garcia finds something before the jet lands it is going to be more of the same. The other hope they have is if one of Agent Cole’s contacts in Miami can give them a string to tug. As if he had wished it into being, Hotch gets a call.

“Katie, hi. Please tell me you have something for us.”

Morgan moves closer to listen to Hotch’s side of the conversation.

“I see. And he’s willing to talk to us? Show us what he’s talking about?” He nods. “Great. Okay, we’ll see you when we land.” He hangs up and looks at Morgan. “Katie has an informant that may know both the collector and where he went to buy Esperanza. I want you and Rossi to talk to him. Get any coordinates he has to Reid and Garcia. If he gives you a building, I want them to find out everything they can about it.”

“Is he going to be cooperative?” Morgan asks.

“Sounds like it. But be ready just in case.”

JJ gets up and heads towards the front of the plane. It is obvious she wants to be the one out in the field with Morgan. “What will I be doing?”

“Katie is having a bunch of files pulled. You, Reid and I will be going through them until something new breaks.” He sighs. “Welcome to the boring side of profiling.”

JJ smiles. “Been helping with this stuff for years. Not a problem.”

Hotch grins. “True. JJ, please don’t think I’m keeping you out of the field. I  _will_   be needing you out there talking to suspects and informants and I trust you to handle that. But the evaluation I have to fill out says I have to ‘observe’ you culling case files for pertinent information. It is ridiculous and tedious but I plan to do everything by the book. I don’t want anyone to have any reason to think you didn’t earn your stripes to get into our unit.”

JJ nods. “Okay. But promise I get to cuff at least one unsub this case?” she says with a grin.

Hotch laughs. “Maybe even two.”

She raises her hands in victory. “Score!”

The team laughs, appreciating the moments of levity.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily prepares to start her fourth interview of the day. She smiles at the woman across from her. **“Chandra, what can you tell me about where you were kept before you were put on the truck?”**

Chandra shrugs. **“It was just a large warehouse. Lots of big crates and empty boxes. They had separated us as we got off the boat so they herded us in like cattle. Well, except for Catarina. She joined us once we got in there.”**

Emily sits forward. **“So she wasn’t on the boat with you?”**

**“No.”**

**“Do you know where she came from?”**

**“No. But she is very angry. When two women were crying about their niece she told them to shut up; that their niece would have a big house, beautiful clothes, and learn all about America from American men and women.”**

Emily’s jaw clenches. Catarina was bitter because she had lost her position at “the other man’s” house. But this means Catarina knows who the hell this man is. Time to get tough with the woman. She questions this woman a few more minutes and only finds out her husband had also been pulled aside to be a driver. Emily’s heart is breaking. If all the men were pulled from the refugees it is hard to believe they would be kept alive now that this truck had been discovered.

She escorts Chandra back to the holding area and asks Catarina to come with her once more. As they get into the interrogation room, she spits at Emily.

**“I have nothing to say to you, Bitch!”**

Emily glares at the woman, her eyes hard and black. **“You will tell me what I need to know about where you have been or you will be deported. I will make sure of it. You weren’t with this batch of refugees. You joined them after losing your position with the man who has Esperanza Portillo.”**

Catarina’s eyes widen. It is obvious she had not expected Emily to have this information. **“You don’t have the power to send me back. I made it to land! I get asylum!”**

**“Not if you’re a criminal. Try to explain to Immigration that you weren’t here as a prostitute when they find out where you were. You’ll be sent back in a heartbeat! Or you tell me what you know about that man and where he lives. You have five minutes to decide.”**

Emily stands and walks out of the room. She calls Hotch.

“Hotchner,” he answers efficiently.

“Hotch, one of the women, the one who called me a whore this morning, didn’t come over with this batch of refugees. She was at some point owned by the man who took Esperanza Portillo but he returned her. She is angry and bitter and stewing deportation as a prostitute as we speak.”

“Think she can give you any information?”

“Hopefully. She’s terrified at the thought of going back to Cuba. The threat could make her talk.”

“Good. Keep pressing her. We’ve just landed and Garcia has sent us a couple of addresses to check out. And Katie Cole has flown down to personally press some of her contacts in this area,” he tells her.

“Good. I’ll be in touch as soon as I can be. You all be careful,” Emily cautions him.

“Always,” he assures her as he disconnects.

Emily heads back down to the interrogation room. Catarina is pacing furiously. Emily simply raises an eyebrow at her.

**“Well?”**

* * *

 

JJ presses her fingers into her eyes. She had been staring at case files since they started receiving them on the jet. Her eyes were aching, matching the throb from her headache. Hotch places a hand on her shoulder.

“JJ, concentrate on the prostitution arrests. Prentiss just called and one of the supposed refugees was actually put with them after the man that bought Portillo returned her.”

JJ frowns. “Really?” She thinks a minute. “Does that make sense?”

Hotch had started to walk away then stops. “What do you mean?”

“It just seems strange to me that he would return her like he’s returning a shirt. And it seems even stranger that the sellers would put her in with a bunch of women who are being led to believe they are getting jobs in stores. She would be able to tell them the truth,” JJ points out. “But if you wanted to keep women quiet when the truck stops maybe you would put in someone with a story about how bad things can be if they don’t cooperate. Not all those women had a family member to be held over them. And I sure as hell wouldn’t keep quiet in that kind of cell if I wasn’t more scared of what could happen if we are caught.”

Hotch stares at JJ a moment. It is a damn good theory. And damn frightening since Emily is pushing the woman for information. He whips out his cell and calls her back. Her phone goes right to voicemail.

“Shit,” he mutters and quickly calls the detective that had been helping them in NC.

“Detective Mears.”

“Mears, Aaron Hotchner. I need to speak to my agent. Can you see where she is?”

“Sure. I’m on my way back to the station now. I’ll have her call as soon as I see her,” he promises.

“Thanks.”

Hotch hangs up and stares at JJ. She sighs, trying to hide the fear in her eyes. With nothing more to do at the moment, she opens one of the prostitution files and starts to review it.

* * *

 

Morgan and Rossi are sitting in a café waiting for Katie Cole’s informant. They are surprised when a child walks up and hands them an envelope.

“He said you would give me $20 for this,” the kid says.

Rossi chuckles and pulls out his money clip. He hands the kid the money and the boy takes off before Rossi can change his mind. Morgan opens the envelope and sees directions to another café. With a roll of his eyes he stands and the two agents head out. Three more envelopes (and $60) later an adult finally sits across from them.

“I am sorry. I had to make sure you were not followed.”

Morgan nods. “I understand. You know why we are here?”

“Ms. Katie wants me to tell you about Hernando Gutierrez. He is a very bad man.”

Rossi leans forward. “Is that his real name?”

“It is the only name I know.”

Rossi nods and texts the name to Garcia. Morgan leads the questioning.

“How did you come to know Gutierrez?”

“I came with my sister. We were brought to a warehouse near the docks. I was put in one group and she was in another. That evil man bought her travel debt and, with it, her life. I was made to be a driver. I took others to New York. They were supposed to bring us back here but they left us there. It has taken me two years to get back here.” He looks away, tears in his eyes. “She was already dead.” He looks back, fury behind the tears. “She was only 15!”

Morgan winces in compassion. “I am so sorry for your loss. What have you been able to find out about him?”

“He buys women to be trained as prostitutes. If they train well, they become high end ones he can sell to others. If they don’t train well he sells them to sick people who…who hurt them until they die. That is what happened to her. She was an innocent girl and they hurt her and hurt her until she died.” He slams his fist into the table. “I want him to suffer for what he did to her!”

Rossi places a gentle hand over the man’s. “We will do our best. Do you know his address or the address where he bought her?”

The man slides Rossi a piece of paper. It has two addresses on it. “The first is his mansion. The second is a second location he uses to…to train the women. I do not remember where we were separated.”

Morgan picks up the paper. “Thank you. We will do everything we can to stop this man. You have my word.”

The man nods. “That is what Ms. Katie said. Thank you.”

Rossi and Morgan head out to their Tahoe. They sit in it for a minute, pondering over what the man had told them. Rossi finally looks over at the younger agent.

“He’s the second cog in the wheel.”

Morgan nods. “Yep. He’ll want a deal to give us what we need to know.”

“I know we have to strike deals that leave a bad taste in our mouth but this one really hits me in the gut,” Rossi states. “He caused the death of at least one 15 year old girl. Probably more. Not to mention what he’s done to many women’s lives.”

Morgan rolls his neck. “What other choice do we have?”

“Let’s give JJ, Garcia and Emily some time. Maybe they will come up with something that will allow us to keep from giving this guy a deal. Maybe Reid’s geographic profile will give us something.”

“So we hide this info from Hotch?” Morgan asks uneasily.

“Hell no! But we don’t have to act on it immediately. Maybe we can get these locations watched until we find more information. I don’t want this bastard walking with a slap on the wrist.”

Morgan finally nods. “Agreed. Let’s go.”

Back at the station, Hotch still hasn’t heard back from Emily Prentiss.


	6. Chapter 6

As Reid, JJ and Hotch had come across prostitutes that seemed to fit the profile they were looking for the doctor would plot their address and where they were arrested on a map. They were looking for ones that may have been working together because they had to versus working together for safety. They would probably also be living close together so their owners could keep an eye on them.

It is again JJ that comes up with a point that helps them narrow the profile. “Not all these women have named pimps.” She looks at Hotch and Reid. “Our women would never give up the name of their pimp. They think they are working off a debt and they know if they give up a name there will be consequences beyond just getting a beating. They’ll either be smuggled back to Cuba, which is a death sentence, or they have a family member being held over them.”

Hotch nods. “Good point. So, weed out those with known pimps.” He looks at Reid. “Get those off your map.”

Reid nods. “Right. I think that will actually give us two areas of concentration.” Reid quickly adjusts his map, carefully pulling off the stickers he had been using to plot the preliminary points. He steps back and sees (no surprise) he is right about the two geographic points. “If we theorize that these two sets are some of our refugees they are living and working in these two areas. Do we have any files on women who haven’t been busted in a long time? They may have paid off their debt.”

JJ starts to flip through a few. She finally nods. “Here. She hasn’t been arrested in over a year.”

Reid takes the file. “Let’s see if Garcia can find her.”

He quickly calls the analyst and gets her working on the search for this woman as JJ and Hotch start to look for other former prostitutes who fit this new theory. They finally have a stack of 15 folders. JJ emails all the names and information to Garcia to add to her search. As they start to go through more folders, Hotch’s phone rings with a number he doesn’t recognize.

“Hotchner.”

“I understand you tried to call me,” Emily says.

* * *

 

Emily and Catarina had stared at each other for a few minutes. Finally the Cuban woman had turned away.

**“I have nothing more to say to you** ,” she states.

**“Then you will be on the hook for kidnapping, interstate transportation of the victims, the death of the driver and any other thing I can think of,”** Emily tells her. **“You will be deported once you are convicted so you can do your time in a Cuban prison.”** She stands to leave. **“Have a good day, Catarina.”**

The woman screams and launches herself at Emily. “NO!”

Emily feels the attack coming and turns to protect herself. Catarina scratches at Emily’s face, making the profiler wince with pain. She manages to grab one of the woman’s hands and spin her around. The woman donkey kicks, sending Emily’s phone flying off her hip into the wall. Emily finally wrestles her down onto the table in the room and gets cuffs on her. She shoves her in a seat.

**“SIT DOWN! MAKE ONE MORE MOVE AND YOU WILL REGRET IT!”** Emily yells at her.

The woman stares daggers at Emily as the agent picks up her phone. She stares at the shattered screen and busted casing. “Son of a bitch,” she mutters. Her personal cell phone is in the hotel since she had forgotten to charge it the night before. She leans out into the hallway.

“Can I get a guard in here for a second,” she calls down the hall. A second later one of the 2 female police officers walks in. “Watch her. She’s dangerous and desperate. I’ll be right back.”

The officer nods and takes a position near the door. Catarina spits in the direction of both women. Emily heads to the ladies room feeling the blood rolling down her cheek. A glance in the mirror shows a two inch slice just below her eye. Not bad enough for stitches but…

“Stings like a motherfucker,” Emily grumbles as she washes it out with soap and water. Another slight abrasion just under it stings but doesn’t bleed. She stares into the mirror a moment. “Jen’s going to be pissed.”

Emily glances down at her hip. Catarina’s foot had caught her cell phone. It doesn’t go unnoticed how close the woman had come to kicking Emily, and therefore Rocky, with that move. Emily rubs her stomach, reminding herself it didn’t happen. Rocky is safe because of Emily’s move when she saw the foot coming.

“Sorry, little one. I promise no one will get that close again if I can help it, okay?” She tells her child.

After taking another calming breath she heads out to see if they have a first aid kit so she can put a Band-Aid on the still bleeding cut. As she finishes with that, Detective Mears enters and tells her Hotch is trying to reach her. Emily rolls her eyes.

“Well, I will definitely have news for him,” she says as she heads into the conference room. She dials his number.

“Hotchner.”

“I understand you tried to call me,” Emily says.

“Prentiss, are you okay?”

Emily frowns. “Uh, why? What have you heard?”

Hotch raises an eyebrow. “You’re not okay. What happened?”

“Hotch, I’m fine,” Emily states, in her mind seeing the look on JJ’s face if she can hear Hotch’s side of the conversation. “Catarina got pissed and took a swipe at me. Small cut on my cheek from her nails but other than that I’m fine. She did manage to bust my phone, though.”

Hotch can’t help but chuckle. “One of these days Straus is going to take our phones away when she notices how many we go through.”

Emily chuckles. “True. Look, she didn’t break.”

“And she may not.” Hotch tells her JJ’s theory and the new theory they are working on in regards to the prostitutes. Emily nods.

“That makes sense. But if her debt was paid, she may be more than just a refugee. Damn, Hotch, she could be a linchpin for this whole set up.”

“True. But I don’t want you going after her alone. I want you to have more information and back up. I’m going to send Reid back up to you. The two of you can make a run at her with what we have here.”

Emily nods. “Okay. I’m going to get her separated from the others. We don’t need her filling their heads with lies that will make our lives more difficult.”

“True.”

“Okay, then I will—uh, hold on a second, Hotch.” Emily moves the phone away from her mouth. “Yes, Detective?”

Detective Mears has a sad look on his face. “State troopers found a burned out Cherokee about an hour north of here. There are 3 bodies in it. License plate says it’s the one in our BOLO.”

“Son of a bitch,” Emily whispers. She relates the info to Hotch. “Mears and I will take a run up there to see what if anything we can find to help us. I’ll pick up a phone along the way.”

“Okay. Call us when you know something. I’ll email you Reid’s itinerary.”

“Right. Oh, and, Hotch…tell her I’m fine. I swear.”

Hotch grins. “I will. But you know she won’t believe me.”

Emily chuckles. “Order her to believe you.”

He laughs and disconnects. Emily looks up at Mears.

“We need to swing by a store so I can replace my phone. Then we need to see that Cherokee before they move it.”

The detective nods. “I already told them to hold the scene. There’s an ATT store on the way out of town.”

Emily nods. “Perfect.”


	7. Chapter 7

Morgan and Rossi pace as Garcia gets them all the information she has on the two addresses. The owner of both places, one Hernando Gutierrez, immigrated to the States 10 years ago. A computer genius, he got away from Cuba so that he could make money on his products instead of the Castro government making the money. Though he still has 2 very legitimate companies bringing in money, there is a dark, shady side to his income. He pays more on taxes than he makes from the two companies. His sideline selling women is obviously quite lucrative.

“Baby Girl, any signs he owns a warehouse or pleasure boat big enough to bring 5 or 6 people in on?”

“No on the warehouse but he owns 2 boats…let’s see…” she types away. “One is a cigarette boat so not a lot of room there.”

“And not what the captives described,” Rossi notes.

“The other is a 30 foot pleasure boat, complete with 3 levels in which to conceal people not supposed to be there.”

Morgan frowns. “That still doesn’t match up to what they said,” he points out. “Any hits on facial recognition around the docs?”

“Sadly yes. Too many hits. The cameras are not the best and there are literally too many people in and out that are similar to each other.”

Rossi frowns. “Garcia, can you search more than one person at a time?”

“Uh, sure. Why?”

“If Emily can tell you who came ashore together, maybe you can set the search to look for two or three women coming in at the same time. Would that narrow things down?”

Garcia thinks a moment then nods. “Yes, it should. May also take a bit longer since the parameters would be larger but let me see what I can do. I’ll give Emily a call.”

“Okay. Give her about 20 minutes. Her phone got busted.”

“Again?” Garcia exclaims. “Geez, you would think she owns stock in the phone makers.” She thinks a minute. “Of course…maybe she does,” she says with a giggle.

Morgan and Rossi laugh, knowing it  _could_  be true. “Hit us back when you have something, Garcia,” Morgan tells her.

“You know I will, agent of my dreams.”

Morgan looks at Rossi. “I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get a look at these two places.”

Rossi nods. “Me, too. I’d like to see security set ups around them and maybe look into who is going in and out.”

“I can help you with that,” a voice near the door tells them. They turn and smile at Katie Cole.

“Good to see you again, Katie,” Rossi says.

“You, too, old man. Didn’t think I’d ever see you anywhere but on Oprah’s book club.”

He chuckles. “She always turned me down. Something about housewives being scared of serial killers and rapists.”

“Ah, the bitch,” she jokes. “Anyway, this guy has been on our radar for a few years. I can get you all in with our surveillance team if you want or you can run by it on your own.”

“I’d like to do both,” Morgan answers. “I’d like to see it without any preconceived ideas then take a look at what you all have pulled together.”

Katie nods. “I’ll get it set up.”

Rossi and Morgan head out to scout the addresses. Katie walks over and shakes Hotch’s hand.

“Good to see you again. Just wish it wasn’t for a case.”

“I agree,” he says. “You remember Jennifer Jareau?”

“Yes. Media Liaison, right?”

“For now. Actually on this case I’m a profiler-in-training,” she tells the agent.

“Excellent! I always thought your talents were wasted with the press. I’ve seen some of the reports on your cases. You’re a profiler without the certs. I know they will come in no time.”

JJ blushes. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from one of the builders of this unit.”

She hands JJ a thumb drive. “These are cases my people have flagged. I had them weed out the ones that were just Cuban immigrants or suspected Cubans. Maybe some of them lead back to Gutierrez and his connections to your refugees.”

“Is there a reason they weren’t sure if some victims were Cuban?” JJ asks, fearing the answer.

Katie sighs. “Advanced decomp. Had to go with genetic and physical markers to guess.”

JJ nods slowly. “I was afraid you’d say that. I’ll get on them.”

Katie turns back to Hotch. “Mind showing me what you have? I’ll admit I plan to steal whatever you have that can help my department now and in the future.”

Hotch grins. “I had a feeling you’d say that. Come on.”

Leaving JJ to start pulling information from Katie’s files, Hotch leads the other unit chief through what they have so far. She frowns at the multiple driver discovery.

“That thought never crossed my mind but it makes sense. Son of a bitch. Any of your team ever needs a change I’ll find them a desk in my unit.”

Hotch chuckles. “Watch the threats, Katie.” She just winks at him.

* * *

 

On the plane ride back to North Carolina, Reid had been running through all the information they had gathered in his head. In his mind, he arranges and rearranges the information looking for patterns they might have missed. He suddenly sits up.

“For a boat to go in and out without drawing suspicion it would have to be a charter boat. Or at least one looking like a charter!” he whispers.

He pulls out his phone then winces. He can’t call Garcia from the air. He wills the plane to fly faster. The analyst needs to look up charter boat companies that are either making more than they should or are making way less than they should. If the traffickers own the charter, they don’t need to pay themselves for these trips. But if they are hiring a boat company who is turning a blind eye to their cargo, that company would either have income beyond what they should have or they would have less income compared to their trips because the money is under the table.

He taps his leg nervously the rest of the trip. The woman beside him glances at him from the corner of her eye several times, worried he is about to go nuts. He turns on his phone as soon as they are allowed.

“Garcia! I think I know how they are getting the bodies ashore without being noticed!” he blurts out. He tells her his theory and she gets to work, thinking it may be what she needs to find their unsubs.

The woman beside Reid practically runs off the plane, eager to get away from the crazy man talking about bodies, boats, and unsubs.

* * *

 

Emily has to force herself to control her breathing. The smell of burnt flesh nearly makes her lose everything in her stomach. Fighting to control her body she walks to the vehicle and looks in. Even in the charred remains she can see bullet holes in each man’s head.

“Thank God for small mercies,” she says. “They were dead before the fire by the looks of things.”

Mears nods. “Yeah. God, who the fuck can do this to another human being?”

“You’re assuming our unsubs are humans. They are animals,” she states viciously. She notes the license plate on the front doesn’t match the one on the back. She pulls out her new cell phone. “Garcia, I need you to run a plate for me.” She gives the analyst the second plate. “It’s on the front of the Cherokee. The Civic tag is on the back.”

Garcia types a second. “And the front tag belongs to the Cherokee. The car is registered to a Gutierrez Technologies and—oh! This is Morgan’s guy!”

Emily frowns. “What?”

“Morgan and Rossi had me look this guy up. He was the one that probably owned Catarina and now has Esperanza. They are checking out his two houses now.”

“I see. Was the Cherokee reported stolen?”

“Nope.”

“Strange. Why the hell leave one good plate on it? Had a cop seen that it would have thrown up all sorts of red flags.”

Garcia is typing away when she suddenly gasps. “Em, the plate was changed.”

“What? When?”

“I don’t know when or why but the last time we got a look at it with the truck we got a front end shot and the plate was the Civic’s plate.”

“Damn it! That makes no sense! Why would they take the time to change the plate, especially to someone peripherally attached to the---oh, shit…Garcia, are any other agencies running undercover ops on Cuban trafficking?”

Garcia frowns. “I don’t know right now but give me an hour and I’ll find out.”

“Thanks, Garcia.”

Emily hangs up the phone and looks at Mears. “Tell the coroner he can take the bodies now. Sadly, unless they have a record in Cuba, or we can get a DNA match, we may never know who these men are.”

Mears nods and tells the coroner to proceed with the body extractions. Emily stares at the burned out vehicle. It was far enough off the road that no one had noticed it at night. But this morning someone had noticed the smoke from the smoldering remains and called it in. By the time a trooper actually made it around to check it out any evidence had long been burned up. All but the strange plate on the front. She looks at Mears.

“Make sure the techs dust both the license plates for prints. Have them sent to our analyst as well as to your crime lab. We may need to go beyond regular databanks to find a match.”

Mears nods, hoping the agent is wrong and that these men will get the dignity of a proper burial instead of interment in a pauper’s grave under a number.


	8. Chapter 8

Morgan and Rossi circle the block where Gutierrez lives. It is in an affluent suburb with plenty of room on both sides. The gates of the house enclose a circular driveway. The front doors can’t be seen from the road.

“No chance anyone would ever see women being carted in and out of here,” Rossi notes.

“Nope. And no one would see his clients, either. Everyone is protected,” Morgan notes. “Unless the surveillance team got up on the phone poles or rented the house next door they couldn’t have much.”

“True. Let’s go check out his training ground,” Rossi suggests. “I’ll call Garcia and see if she knows anything about his neighbors here.”

Garcia stabs the phone when it rings. “I swear to Mickey Mouse if you are about to ask me to run another search on something I will scream!” she threatens.

Rossi raises his eyebrows. “Uh, well…I sort of was…”

“NO! I’ve got Reid’s charters running, Emily’s special ops running, facial recognition programs running which need tweaking every time they get a hit, I have unsolved deaths of Cuban John and Jane Does running, what the hell ELSE could you possibly need and how many fucking hands do you think I have?” she screams.

Rossi just stares at the phone. Even Morgan had heard the rant and it wasn’t on speaker. Rossi slowly brings it back up to his ear. “Um, never mind for now. But, um, when you have a chance to start a new one give me a call, okay?”

“Fine!” she hangs up on him.

Rossi looks at Morgan. “Next time  _you_   call her.”

Morgan laughs. “Not a chance. Next time Hotch calls her.”

Rossi chuckles. “Agreed.”

“What do you think she meant by running a special ops trace for Prentiss? What could special ops have to do with this?”

Rossi shrugs. “I don’t know.” He glances at Morgan. “You don’t think…she’s checking on Doyle’s network, do you?”

Morgan shrugs. “Maybe. And if she is that could make Garcia jumpy. Especially if Prentiss told her to keep it private.” He pulls out his phone and hits speed dial 3 with it on speaker. “Prentiss? What kind of run do you have Garcia working on?”

“We found the Cherokee but the front plate is the original and traces back to that guy you and Rossi are checking out. The only two reasons I can come up with for that is 1) the unsubs want us focused on Gutierrez or 2) one of the alphabet agencies has already infiltrated this group and wanted to give us a lead.”

Morgan nods. “Both good options. Just so you know, Garcia is frazzled. We have her running about a dozen searches. Might be best not to call her to follow up.”

Emily chuckles. “Good to know. Any good news down your way?”

“Not really. Lots of puzzle pieces but no frame to fit them into. Hopefully one or more of Garcia’s searches will give us a better starting point to fill things in.”

“Hopefully. Oh, hey, Reid just got here. We’re going to take another run at Catarina. I’ll talk to you all later.”

“Be careful, Em. We heard she went at you this morning.”

“She did. This time I’ll just throw Reid in front of me.”

Morgan laughs and signs off. He looks at Rossi. “We are shits for thinking she was checking on Doyle.”

“Maybe. But I don’t think all of us are quite past what happened. Makes me wonder if we all need to see that PTSD shrink of hers. We don’t exactly trust her again and that bugs the shit out of me.”

Morgan sighs. “Me, too. I just can’t believe she did all that, went through all that, and we never knew. I can’t believe she never told us.”

“I think she tried to tell me once. She just wasn’t ready. Thank God she told JJ.”

Morgan nods. “Yeah.” He is silent a moment. “She’s my best friend, Rossi. I thought I knew everything about her,” he says sadly.

“I know, Derek. But she was trying to protect us the only way she could. And does she really know everything about you?”

Morgan stares at the road. “Mostly. She was there when my darkest secret was exposed but I guess I might have a few others.”

“Talk to her, Derek. Doyle’s ghost is going to hang over us for a while until we all deal with what happened. But that doesn’t mean we stop trusting her.”

Morgan glances at Rossi. “We just  _proved_   we don’t trust her, Dave. We called her after talking to Garcia because we didn’t trust her,” he reiterates. “Now we have to live with that, too.”

Rossi says nothing, just nods his head. They continue to the next address in silence.

* * *

 

Emily and Reid are already waiting for Catarina when she is escorted back in. She sneers at them.

**“I have nothing more to say to you, bitch. You may as well send me back to my cell now!”**

Emily glances at Reid. “She said she plans to tell us all about her undercover operation for ICE*. She even said I was pretty.”

Reid just grins as Catarina’s eyes widen. She glances at the door, then back to Emily. “What the hell, woman? You’re going to get me pulled off this case!”

Emily sits forward. “I hate to tell you this, but your case is blown to shit. You can either tell us what you know about the men in that Cherokee, which was found burned out with three bodies in it, or I can make sure the newspapers pick up your picture to splash all over the damn country.”

Catarina’s eyes narrow. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me,” Emily promises. “Those men were executed then burned! And someone from ICE was with them because they put on a traceable license plate. So tell us what you know or the media will get everything we have.”

Catarina sits back. “I need to call my handler. I don’t believe you about the—”

Emily had been expecting this. She slaps a picture of the Cherokee down on the table, the bodies laid out on the ground beside it. Catarina’s eyes widen.

“Madre de Dios!” she exclaims. She slowly looks up at Emily. “There were three refugees in there as drivers, one ICE agent and one of the traffickers. I still need to call my handler. We have been working these men for over a year.”

“How does Hernando Gutierrez figure into the equation?” Reid asks.

“He’s a fucking bastard. He loves money and when he made a little here in the States an old buddy of his from Cuba approached him with a way to make more. It’s untraceable money so he gets to keep more of it. He grew up in the slums. Now he is a rich man. All he wants is to be richer. His friend gave him the way to do that without having to give any money to the government. You can imagine, he is not very happy about paying taxes to any government, even one that has allowed him to make as much as he has.”

Emily nods and hands her phone over to Catarina. “Call your boss. We’ll give you a few minutes alone. Look, one way or another this has to end soon. There is a little girl in that room who needs to know what happened to her father.”

Catarina nods. Emily and Reid step out, leaving the gruesome photos on the table. As they get outside, Reid calls Hotch.

“Hotch? She’s calling her boss now. She finally admitted that ICE is involved. There was another agent with the drivers as well as one trafficker. If we can take down the network without involving ICE they can continue to work their undercover operations.”

Hotch nods. “Okay. Get what you can from her.” He looks at his watch. “It’s nearly 7 o’clock. Nothing more is going to happen tonight if this much red tape is involved. Once you’re done with her head to the hotel and get some rest. Something tells me all hell will be breaking loose tomorrow and you may be in the thick of an inter-agency pissing contest up there.”

“I agree. But you all may be in the middle of a complete take down of the operation. Be careful.”

“We will be.”

Reid signs off and relates what Hotch said. Emily nods.

“Yep, it’s going to get ugly soon.”

They stand there in silence a moment. Emily stares into Reid’s eyes and sees the questions he wants to ask. She takes his hand.

“How about after we get things shut down here we head back to the hotel, order room service and you can ask the questions you want. I promise to answer them all.”

Reid smiles. “Thanks. I…I keep thinking about what you did back then…what Catarina is doing now…” he shakes his head. “I don’t have the guts to do something like that.”

Emily smiles. “It doesn’t take guts. It takes just wanting to forget who you are and…and accepting you will never make it back alive.”

“But you lived,” he points out.

Emily raises an eyebrow. “Did I?”

He contemplates that cryptic answer before following her down the hall to see Catarina. As expected, the woman’s handler is coming to see them the next day. They will have to very carefully plan the take down of the trafficking network so as not to jeopardize future operations. As Hotch said, an inter-agency pissing contest is on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Immigration & Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security that deals with border patrol, trade, customs and immigration.


	9. Chapter 9

Reid is able to get the room adjoining Emily’s. She calls in an order for dinner, thankful Reid is okay with soup and grilled cheese. He has a good chuckle about the pile of junk food on the dresser.

Emily smiles. “Yeah, I kinda got a bad craving in the middle of the night. I just bought anything that—hey! She   _did_   take my Butterfinger!”

Reid laughs. “You rarely eat junk food. What did JJ get cravings for?”

Emily smiles, remembering one night in particular. “She craved anything salty. I thought I had bought everything she could possibly want to have. And then she woke me one night just having to have a soft pretzel swimming in salt and mustard. Had the salt and mustard, no soft pretzels. Had to drive into Virginia to a Walmart and buy the frozen ones that you microwave. She ate three bites of one and decided that’s not really what Henry wanted after all.”

Reid laughs. “Really? Wow! Was she at least apologetic?”

Emily grins. “Yes. But it was two days before I accepted. That’s why I didn’t have the heart to wake her up last night. I wasn’t sure if she would bring back the right thing or not.”

Reid smiles. “Well, something tells me she wouldn’t care. She just wants to keep you and Rocky happy and healthy.”

Emily nods. “I know.”

“So, if you need anything tonight, feel free to wake me. I’ll get you whatever you need.”

She squeezes his hand. “Thanks, Reid.”

Just then their dinner arrives. As they eat, Reid starts to ask Emily everything he needs to know to reconcile the Doyle situation in his head. He finally gets to his last question.

“Do you really think you didn’t live through it all?”

Emily walks over and sits down on the bed, leaning against the headboard as she considers her answer.

“The Emily Prentiss who went undercover died a long time ago. She was selfish, a loner, secretive, bitter, and really didn’t care if she lived or died. I am glad she’s gone. This Emily Prentiss appreciates her life, her friends, her family, and every blessing she has. I want to live, Reid. That’s why I was willing to do anything Doyle asked of me except…except one thing. And I couldn’t do that because the old Emily would have done that.”

“You mean sleep with him willingly? Even after JJ said to?”

Emily nods. “Yes. I tried to, Spence, even before Jen told me to. But I couldn’t. And I knew at that moment I never could. He knew, too. That was the first time he really saw that Lauren was gone for good. I can’t be her because I want to be me. Does that make sense?”

Reid smiles and nods. “Yes, it does. I’m not sure I’d have liked the old Emily. But I know I love the new Emily. I’m not sure…not sure I’d have been okay if we hadn’t found you. Too many times over those two weeks I heard the call of the Dilaudid. I’m not sure how much longer I could have ignored it.”

Emily winces. “Oh, Spence.” She stands and moves to him, pulling him into a hug. “Thank you for not going back to it. I am so sorry the temptation was even there. Please forgive me.”

He returns the hug. “I do. Thank you for not dying on us.”

Emily chuckles. “That was definitely my goal the whole time.”

Reid, who had spent too much time on a plane that day, soon heads to his room to go to bed. They leave their adjoining doors unlocked. Emily changes into her pajamas and calls home to check on Henry and Francesca. Once that is done, she calls JJ.

“Hey, baby, hold on a sec,” JJ answers.

Emily hears shuffling and a couple of grunts that aren’t JJ’s. Finally her wife comes back on the line.

“Okay, I’m back. Just had to move my suitcase so Katie has a place for hers.”

Emily chuckles. “Glad you found someone to warm your bed tonight.”

“Ha ha. Katie Cole. She wants to stay near us in case anything breaks. Luckily they gave me a double room. Good catch on the ICE connection, by the way.”

“Thanks. I just hope we can do what we need to do without ruining their set up. We may take this batch of assholes down but there are plenty more where they came from.”

“True. Katie is hoping to get more in tune with them at least on the child trafficking side. If the agencies work a little closer together maybe we won’t blow each other’s investigations.”

“Hopefully.” Emily pauses. “I…I had a good talk with Reid tonight. Seeing Catarina made him brave enough to finally ask me all the questions he wanted the answers to regarding my time as Lauren.”

“Good for Reid. What about you?” JJ asks with concern.

Emily smiles. “It felt really good to talk to him about it. Jen, I think Morgan called me today to check up on me. Not to see if I was okay but to see if I was running any checks on Doyle. It didn’t even dawn on me until I talked to Reid.”

JJ gets angry. “What the hell? Doesn’t he trust you?”

“Easy, Jen. I think everyone has some questions about me right now. Heck, you did and you knew about Lauren and Doyle. I think I need to talk to Derek. He’s my best friend and he had no way to help me because I didn’t let him in on that secret. In his shoes, I’d be pissed and untrusting, too.”

JJ sighs. “Maybe I can sort of see that. But still…he’s your best friend.”

“Jen, he may not have even known he had those doubts until he had them. We’re all just trying to pick up and move on again. It may not be that easy.”

“God, I hate that I can see what you mean. Maybe when all this is done you two can go out to the shooting range and bond or something.”

Emily chuckles. “Not sure we should be around guns with high emotions. But I know what you mean. We’ll get it worked out. He means too much to me for me to risk losing him.”

“I know, sweetheart.” JJ sighs. “So, switching subjects, any morning sickness?”

“Nope. But all I can eat is soup and grilled cheese. Thankfully Reid didn’t mind the same thing. But I really hope I don’t get a Butterfinger craving. Mine mysteriously disappeared and there are no more in the vending machine.”

JJ laughs. “Gee, maybe Spence took it when you weren’t looking.”

“Riiiiight, Agent Jareau. Something tells me a sexy, blonde profiler-in-training stole it. And I have my ways of making her admit it.”

“Oh, really, and what ways are those?”

“Jen, you have a roommate tonight. Do you really want to go there?” Emily points out.

JJ chuckles, blushing. “Um, right. Good point. Guess that will wait until we get home.” She glances at the clock. “Well, I need to give Francesca a call and say goodnight to Henry. I’m guessing you already did that?”

“Yep. Just before I called you.”

“Good. Well, have a good night, baby. Hopefully this will all be over tomorrow and we’ll be heading home.”

“Hopefully. I love you, Jen. Stay safe.”

“I love you, too. Try not to bust the heads of any ICE agency members.”

Emily chuckles. “Always stealing my fun, Mrs. Prentiss.”

“Yep, Mrs. Prentiss,” JJ agrees. “Night, baby.”

“Night, sweetheart.”

Emily hangs up and plugs in her phone. She stares at the ceiling. Nope, the old Emily Prentiss could have never loved Jennifer Jareau Prentiss. And Jennifer Jareau Prentiss would never have loved the old Emily Prentiss. She may have walked through hell to get there but Emily had definitely come out in heaven.


	10. Chapter 10

At 8 a.m. Hotch puts Garcia on speakerphone. Reid, Emily and Catarina are conferenced in from North Carolina. Her handler had simply called in the morning with the okay for the agent to help as much as she saw fit.

“Okay, Speed Racers, buckle up because I’m about to take you on a wild ride. First, I found two charter boat companies whose income and tax records don’t make sense. One is most likely a drug running front and I sent a little flag to a friend at the DEA. The second one, however, is most likely our traffickers. Every 3 weeks they have 6 tours in one day. Now, since all other days there is only one tour a day I’d say that other day is the one you all would be most interested in.”

She takes a deep breath. “Charting the times back to dates when Katie’s teams noticed increased activity around Gutierrez’ house the dates are within 2 days of each other each followed up by a large party at his house the night before the next 6-tour day.”

“Obviously, that’s him selling off a batch of refugees,” Rossi points out. “But what about the 2 days after the captives are brought ashore? There’s not enough time to train the girls in just 2 days.”

From the speakerphone, Catarina speaks. “He has people over at that time to get a preview of the captives he buys. They can choose the one they want and how they want the girl trained.”

“All men?” JJ asks.

“Sadly, no. Though men are the only ones looking for the underage girls, if that’s any consolation at all.”

“Not really,” JJ admits.

Garcia pipes in with more information. “I tracked that charter boat through facial recognition and found all the women with Emily, sans Catarina, of course, as well as the driver of the truck. If and until I get pictures of the three dead men I can’t be sure they are the ones on the boat or not. But since one man had his arm around Rosa, I think it’s safe to say that is her father.”

“Where did they get taken when they left the boat?” Reid asks.

“Getting there, Genius,” Garcia answers. “All the refugees were put in a green panel van that I was able to track through the city to a warehouse in a rundown industrial park across town. Though many buildings are still in use others are empty and some are slated for demolition, though it doesn’t look like anyone is in too great a hurry to get them down.”

“Low risk of being seen or of looking suspicious,” Morgan points out. “We need to get a look at that warehouse.”

Hotch nods. “Morgan, JJ, go check it out. If you see anyone stay out of it. If it’s empty and open see what you can find that might get us a warrant.”

Morgan and JJ nod. They quickly leave, JJ especially happy to get away from files for a couple hours.

“Anything else, Garcia?” Hotch asks.

Garcia winces. “Just one more thing that is really, really yucky.”

“What is it?” Hotch pushes.

“One of the sub companies of the group that owns the warehouse owns a crematorium.”

Those in the room glance around at each other. It is doubtful the John and Jane Does Garcia are running will link back to this group if they have such an effective way of disposing of bodies.

“Good job, Garcia.” Hotch says. “Prentiss, Reid, Catarina, you need to talk to the refugees again. We need to know exactly how many people came on the boat with them and how many lived to make the trip to shore. That’s the only way we can even begin to hope to figure out how many people we are searching for. On this end, Rossi, get with the chief of police. We need to get that crematorium checked out. Garcia, anything you can find that could give them cause would be helpful.”

“Yes, sir. Running it now.”

“Okay, Katie and I will keep flagging files. Let’s bring this one home today.” Hotch disconnects the call, hoping they will at least save this batch of refugees and shut down this one network. He knows, as they all do, that there are hundreds more out there but this one was theirs to take down and they would do what it takes to do so.

* * *

 

As a precaution, Morgan insists he and JJ put on their vests before looking around the outside of the warehouse. They walk around the outside, looking for anything that might be enough to get them a warrant to enter the building. As they get to the back, they see something even better.

“Open door,” Morgan points out. “As law enforcement officers we should make sure it’s not vandals or vagrants.”

JJ chuckles. “You are so full of shit.”

He grins. “Let’s go. Keep your eyes and ears open.”

“Right.”

Turning their phones to vibrate, they step in and wait as their eyes adjust to the dim light inside. Just as the captives Emily had questioned said it was full of big crates and empty boxes. They walk slowly around the perimeter. At one point, Morgan bends down, picking up a child’s doll. JJ just shakes her head, imagining a child working so hard to bring it with her only to lose it here. It would take a lot to make a child give up such a treasure.

“Fucking bastards,” she mumbles. Her phone vibrates against her hip. She answers quietly. “Jareau.”

“JJ, why are you whispering?” Hotch asks.

“We found a door open. We are checking to make sure vandals and vagrants aren’t damaging private property,” she replies.

“Bullshit,” Hotch tells her. “Be quick about it. We need you to—”

He stops speaking as the sound of automatic gunfire screams through the phone. He hears a grunt and the sound of the phone falling, followed by return fire from one of his agents’ guns.

“OFFICER DOWN! REPEAT: OFFICER DOWN!”

Hotch’s blood freezes as he hears the screamed alert, followed by more gunfire from multiple guns…and then silence as the phone cuts off.


	11. Chapter 11

At the first sound of the automatic volley, JJ had dropped her phone and pulled her gun. Morgan had too but had been in the line of fire, taking shots to his chest, arm and leg, going down hard.

JJ screams out her warning, praying her phone is still connected. She fires a few times at the men up on the catwalk, striking one and scaring the other enough that he moves away. She grabs Morgan by the collar and drags him to cover between two crates and the wall.

“Morgan?”

“I’m…’kay,” he says weakly.

JJ looks at him. “The fuck you are. Call for help, Morgan. Now!”

He nods. She reloads her main sidearm and pulls her clutch piece, taking a protective stance in front of her partner. Her eyes scan the catwalks as well as the ground in front of her.

She is trying to figure out a way to get Morgan out of the building when bullets rip the ground in front of her. She follows their path up to a man on a stairwell across from them. She squeezes off two shots. Obviously he thought he was too far away for her to get an accurate shot off. Obviously he is wrong.

She watches as both bullets strike him in the torso. They may not be kill shots but they drive him over the railing 20 feet to the ground. She knows he’s out of the game.

_“Okay, Prentiss, that’s two hit, one for sure down. How many others are there?”_ she asks herself.

“Five…minutes…out,” Morgan says.

JJ knows he’s telling her the ETA of backup. If there are many more gunmen it may be too long. She scans the warehouse again. She eases her head around the side of the crate she is using for cover…and draws the fire of a third gunman.

“SHIT!” she shouts as the crate splinters, sending shards of wood at her face. She has just wiped them away when she sees the man dart across the open floor towards cover. He doesn’t make it. One shot to the head stops him.

_“Three down, 2 permanently,”_ she scores for herself.

She is again scanning the catwalks when she feels something hit her cheek. Lifting her hand up she wipes blood away. Her eyes widen. She leaps away from the crates as bullets strike the floor where she’d been standing. Twisting in the air, she fires both guns up at the injured man above her. He stumbles back, falling over the railing. He is dead before he crashes into the crate Morgan leans against.

“Jayje…COVER!” Morgan screams with all he has.

JJ is now on her back fully exposed to any other shooters. She doesn’t need Morgan’s encouragement to scramble to cover behind another crate.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she mutters. She is no longer where she can cover Morgan. “I have to get back there,” she coaches herself. Taking the time to put her last full clip in her main gun, she pockets the partial clip. She needs to get 15 feet across the open floor to get to where she can protect Morgan. She eases up and looks over the crate she is behind…and it is riddled with gunfire. She drops down.

“Where the hell is he?” she asks herself. Replaying the scene in her mind, she thinks she knows where the shots came from. But he could have moved. She thinks about where he could go for a better angle and nods. Instead of moving towards Morgan, she spins out from behind the crate moving away from him, each gun pointed to a location he may be. The gunman, expecting her to go the other way is momentarily caught off guard. It gives JJ enough time to check both possible locations and fire before he ever does. He goes down, three shots to center mass.

_“Five down, Prentiss. God, how many more can there be?”_

She starts to ease her way back to Morgan. Even with her ears ringing from the shots in the cavernous building she can now hear the approaching sirens.

“Help’s almost here, Morgan. Just hang on. You still with me?”

“Here,” he says weakly.

“Good. Just hang on, buddy. We’ll be out of here soon.”

Movement to her right catches the corner of her eye. She turns and fires at the same time as this gun man does. He takes three hits to the chest. JJ slams backwards into the crate behind her, her breath forced out of her lungs from the impact into her vest of the two hits he got on her. Her foe falls dead. She falls gasping for air.

_“Got…to…get…up…protect…Morgan…”_ she tells herself.

She is still trying to get back to her feet when the first few police officers storm into the building. Two race over to her and Morgan, allowing her to go ahead and drop to the floor as they cover them. Once she has her breath back, she looks at Morgan. He clutches the wound in his right arm; his left leg is bleeding profusely at the thigh. A hole in the middle of the “B” on his vest shows the third hit. She crawls over to him, pulling off her belt. Without a word, she quickly wraps it around his leg and pulls it tight to slow the bleeding.

“Nice…job…Jayje,” he manages.

JJ forces a grin to her face, still panting after the hits and her exertions. “Someone…had to…save…yer…ass.”

He grins as she collapses down beside him. When Hotch and Rossi race in a few minutes later they see two EMT’s working on Morgan while another one is helping JJ get her vest off.

“JJ?” Hotch asks.

“Morgan…shot three times. Vest. Arm. Leg. Me. Vest. Twice. Fuck this shit hurts.”

Rossi forces a smile to his face. “Would hurt worse without the vest, kid.”

JJ laughs, then grabs her chest. “Shit. Stop. No jokes. Fuck. Tell Em I’m okay.”

Hotch nods. “We will.”

Just then the incident commander walks up. “Agent Jareau? I need your guns.”

JJ nods and hands them over. Hotch looks at the IC.

“What’s the initial report?”

“Six bastards ambushed your agents. Six bastards dead.” He looks at JJ. “Nice job, Agent.”

JJ just nods. As the IC walks off, Hotch looks at JJ. “Good entry?”

JJ nods. “Door was open. We were set up, Hotch. They fucking knew we were coming and laid in wait for us.”

Hotch nods. “That’s what I was afraid of.” He winces as the EMT cuts off JJ’s shirt. Her white sports bra is vibrant against the already deep purple and red bruising coming up on her torso. “The IC will probably have a cop ride with you to get your statement. We’ll see you at the hospital later. Well done, Agent Jareau.”

“Thanks.”

As JJ is loaded onto a stretcher, Hotch and Rossi step closer to Morgan, trying not to interfere with the EMT’s. One man looks up and sees the concerned agents.

“Lost a lot of blood but no major arteries hit. He’ll be fine.”

Hotch nods. “Good.”

It worries him and Rossi that Morgan is unconscious. They both say prayers as he is loaded up and taken quickly out to a waiting ambulance. Though JJ had been loaded onto one before him, it is Morgan’s that goes screaming out of the lot first.

* * *

 

Emily is finishing the last of the paperwork she has to fill out for ICE regarding the refugees when Reid gets a call.

“Hey, Hotch.” He listens a moment. “I see. And their status?” Reid asks with concern.

The tone of Reid’s voice pulls Emily from the paperwork in front of her. He glances at Emily then turns his back on her. Wrong move. Now she knows it’s about JJ. She stands and moves in front of him.

“Right. I will. We should be done here soon. Tell Garcia to book us out on the next flight. We’ll make it even if we have to finish with ICE later.” He hangs up.

“What the hell happened?” Emily demands.

“JJ and Morgan went to check out the warehouse. They are okay. But they were ambushed. They had their vests on. JJ took a couple hits to her torso but she’s okay. Well, you know how it still hurts like hell but mostly okay. Morgan took hits to the chest, arm and leg. He’s in surgery. He should be fine.”

Emily’s rage is boiling. “And the fuckers that shot them?”

“JJ took out all 6 of them,” he says proudly.

Emily stares at him a moment. “Six? Six men against them and she got them all?”

Reid nods. “Yes, she did.”

Emily has pride in her eyes to counter the fear in her heart. “Damn she’s so fucking good. Let’s get the h---hey, they were ambushed?” she confirms with a frown.

Reid nods. “Yep. Hotch and Rossi are sure there had to have been a leak about where they were going. They’re on it.”

Emily stares at Reid. She slowly shakes her head. “It wasn’t there.”

She storms out of the room and down the hall. She goes into the office Catarina had been using and grabs the woman, slamming her against the wall.

“ _You_  made that fucking call. _You_   warned them we had people on the way!”

Catarina tries to pry Emily’s hands off her shirt but it’s no use. “Yes! I had to tell my partner to get out of there! You all were going to ruin our investigation!”

Emily slams her against the wall again. “Your call got my wife and best friend shot, you stupid bitch!” She spins her around and pulls out her cuffs. “You are under arrest for 2 counts of assault with intent to kill on a Federal Officer, and aiding and abetting in human trafficking.”

Catarina struggles to get away from Emily. “You can’t DO this! I’m a Federal Officer, too!”

“You won’t be by the time we’re done with you!” Emily looks at Reid. “Tell Hotch we’ll be a bit late. We’re taking her to the federal lock-up before heading to Miami.”

Reid nods. “Gladly.”


	12. Chapter 12

Six hours later Emily is approaching a hospital room door.

“But I’m fine,” JJ insists to someone. “Both impacts merged into one big hematoma and I just have one bruised rib.” There is a pause. “I swear, I am okay.” Pause. “I love you, too. Bye, Liz.”

Emily walks in, a surprised look on her face. “Liz? As in my mother?”

JJ’s eyes brighten as Emily enters. “Yep, your mother. Found out through a friend there was a bit of an incident and I was injured.”

Emily stares at her wife. “A  _bit_  of an incident?”

“Her words, not mine. I’d say it was a completely fucked up situation that I should get my ass kicked for,” JJ admits.

“Why do you think that?” Emily asks.

“We walked into a trap, Em. How fucking stupid were we?”

“Not stupid at all, Jen.” Emily walks over and takes her wife’s hand, stroking her other hand through soft, blonde hair. “Catarina called her partner to make sure he got anything that could help their case out of the warehouse. When he got caught, he told them that he had word police were on their way. They killed him, rightly assuming he was an informant.” JJ winces. “They then set up the ambush. They left 6 men assuming a whole team was coming.” Emily leans over and kisses JJ’s forehead. “Little did they know it was just two badass FBI agents. It was hardly fair to them, really.”

JJ manages a small smile. “Maybe.” The smile fades. “Derek is hurt, Em. Badly.”

Emily shakes her head. “He’ll be fine. Rossi met Reid and I at the airport. Docs say Derek will be out of the field for a few weeks but back to normal in no time. He got damn lucky. And you saved him, Jen. You got him to safety, covered him, and neutralized the threats to both of you.” She leans down, her forehead against JJ’s. “I am so fucking proud of you. And so fucking glad you’re okay. I love you, Jennifer Prentiss.”

JJ rubs her wife’s cheek. “I love you, too. Em, I didn’t even have time to be scared in there. Now…now I’m terrified.”

“I know, sweetheart. That’s the way it goes in situations like that.”

“Lying here…I keep thinking of the case where Easter left your ass hanging in the wind. Was it like that for you then?”

Emily slowly nods. “Yes. I was able to turn my fear to anger and use it against the bad guys and Easter. Jen, please try to turn your fear to relief that you and Derek are alive and pride that you saved yourself and your partner. Please don’t go down the path Lauren… _ **I**_   had to take.”

JJ stares into Emily’s eyes. “With your help, I won’t. I promise.”

The two share a kiss full of love, relief and hope. As it ends, JJ asks the next question.

“Are Hotch, Rossi and Reid helping raid the Gutierrez house?”

“Nope. We’re out of it. Ryder thinks we need to step back or it may look like we’re going after revenge, especially if there is another shootout. Katie Cole’s team will take the lead for the FBI. A team from ICE is coming in to take over their part of the investigation. Turns out Catarina, her handler and her partner had been going a bit rogue on this. Too many people died. Their careers are over but maybe we can at least stop this batch of traffickers with what evidence they did collect.”

“But there will always be more out there,” JJ notes sadly.

“True. But that’s for Cole and ICE to worry about. We’re done for now,” Emily states.

She pulls JJ as close as she can considering the blonde’s injuries. They are still like that an hour later when Reid walks in.

“Morgan’s out of surgery. Supposedly he’s hitting on the nurses already thanks to the drugs.”

Emily chuckles. “That has nothing to do with the drugs and we know it.”

“True,” Reid agrees. “But blaming those should keep him from getting his butt kicked by his caregivers.”

The trio laughs…though JJ winces and quickly stops. “Fuck…that really hurts.”

“Look at the bright side. Being on injured reserve will give you plenty of time to study for your next test,” Emily points out.

JJ grins. “True. Let’s see, it’s February 27. If I time it right I can take my next test on March 20. That would get me certified by March 26. Well, if I pass, that is.”  
Emily kisses her temple. “You will. You’re a Prentiss, after all.”

JJ smiles. “Yes, baby, I am.”

Reid grins. “You two are so cute.”

The Prentiss women just smile at their friend.

* * *

 

JJ is released from the hospital late Saturday afternoon. Morgan was going to be in the hospital at least a week. Hotch decided Sunday morning was soon enough for them to fly home. Emily is glad that Katie Cole has managed to find another hotel room for the night. When the Prentiss’ get to their room, Emily pulls JJ close.

“My heart almost stopped when Reid told me what happened. And it made me feel a little better to manhandle Catarina…or whatever the hell her name is. Jennifer Andrea Jareau Prentiss I am so fucking proud of you and I love you so much. You saved my best friend, you saved yourself, and you helped bring these bastards to justice.” She kisses JJ’s temple. “But you still owe me a Butterfinger.”

JJ laughs but quickly stops as it hurts her rib. “You’re right, I do.” She looks up at her wife. “I love you, Emily.” She rubs the brunette’s stomach. “Is Rocky okay?”

Emily sighs. “Well, I’m sure my blood pressure raced a little today but Rocky is fine. Being so far removed from what happened by the time I knew to worry about you I knew there was nothing to worry about.” She strokes JJ’s cheek. “But I still don’t want to do this whole ‘investigate in different cities’ thing again any time soon. I didn’t sleep for shit being away from you last night.”

JJ smiles. “Me neither. I almost crawled into bed and cuddled with Katie.”

Emily grins. “That would have made for an interesting inter-department report. Now, why don’t you lay down while I go fill an icepack for your chest.”

“That, Mrs. Prentiss, sounds like a perfect idea. I’ll find us a mindless movie to watch.”

Emily kisses her. “Good.”

By the time Emily gets back JJ has settled on a SyFy channel movie. Emily grins. “Malibu Shark Attack? Yep, definitely mindless.”

JJ grins as Emily settles the ice pack on her chest. “Oh, that feels good.”

“Damn, Jen, it looks so bad.”

“Feels bad, too, so the truth is in the advertising.”

Emily just shakes her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

JJ had once asked Emily the same question. She figures the same answer should apply to this case. “Never let me go?”

Emily leans in and gives her a deep kiss. “I think I can handle that, Mrs. Prentiss.”

* * *

 

Soon after take off the next morning JJ falls asleep on the couch. Emily tucks a blanket around her. She brushes a lock of hair off her forehead, lest it tickle her and wake her up. She looks to the chair Morgan should be sitting in and sighs. She makes her way back to the galley to make a cup of tea.

She isn’t there long when Rossi joins her. She glances at him and sees a strange look in his eyes.

“What?”

“I owe you an apology,” he states.

Emily thinks a second then shrugs. “For what?”

“We called Garcia yesterday. She said she was running a special ops check for you. We both…Morgan and I…we thought…”

She stiffens. “You thought I was checking on Doyle’s network.”

He nods. “Yes. Garcia was frazzled. That’s not normally like her,” he justifies.

Emily leans against the wall, her arms crossed in front of her. “So that means she’s running something I swore her to secrecy on? Fuck, Rossi, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all about Doyle. I had been assured if the bastard ever got out I’d get warning. Tell me, do I know all your dirty fucking secrets?” She takes a deep breath. “It’s not exactly a time of my life I am proud of. And besides that I took an oath of secrecy about the whole thing to protect myself and my team. Not that it helped them in the end.”

Rossi stares at her. “You  _should_ be proud of it. I understand how covert ops work. But you’re special to us, Emily. Makes us a little more…well, nervous that something could happen to you again. Not to mention I still have nightmares that we don’t get to that hunting lodge in time.” He takes one of her hands. “I want to apologize because I  _should_   have trusted you. Like you said, we all have secrets. You told JJ. And, most importantly, you’re here because you never stopped trusting us. You risked your life to bring him to justice twice. I’m damn proud of you, Emily. I swear I’ll never doubt you again. Oh, and, no, you don’t know all my dirty secrets.” He smiles at her. “My wives would give you the world if you did.”

Emily smiles in spite of herself. She wipes away the tears on her cheeks. “Thank you, Dave. I…You…you have been a father to me even when I didn’t think I needed one. I swear this is the last dirty secret in my closet.”

Rossi smiles. “Good. But don’t think I’m about to reveal any of mine.”

She chuckles. “Never.”

They exchange a hug. “Damn glad you made it back to us, kid. Damn glad.”

* * *

 

When they get home that afternoon, Emily sends JJ right up to bed. She walks in a few minutes later with Henry. He giggles.

“MOMMY!”

JJ smiles. “Hey, Little Man. How you doing? I missed you.”

“Now, Henry, Mommy has a boo boo. So be careful, okay?” Emily warns him as she sets him on the bed.

Henry crawls up and kisses JJ on the cheek. He pats her shoulder. “Boo.”

JJ smiles at his way of making things better and pulls him as close as she can. “Yes, Henry, all better. Thank you, sweetheart.”

Emily smiles and lies down on the other side of him. “So, Champ, think you can help me sing Mommy a lullaby? She needs a nap.”

Henry nods and cuddles close to JJ. Emily starts to sing, hoping the little boy will fall asleep. She smiles as both her loves slip into slumber. She spends an hour just watching them sleep, thanking God for JJ’s prowess with a gun…and for Kevlar.


End file.
